[00:00.00]Topic 50   On Illusion
[00:06.64]Some people are committed to their dreams 
[00:09.46]and work hard to achieve their goals. 
[00:11.61]What is guiding them is a kind of illusion. 
[00:14.34]Some people think that illusion 
[00:16.71]is good for success while others argue 
[00:19.49]that it is not so good 
[00:20.80]because it may get people unrealistic. 
[00:23.09]As far as I am concerned, 
[00:24.96]illusion is necessary in our life 
[00:27.43]only if it is encouraging and realistic. 
[00:30.00]There are several reasons.
[00:31.60]First of all, there is power in illusion. 
[00:34.70]The illusion can lead people to the path 
[00:37.69]they want to go on and it gives us passion. 
[00:40.02]We need to live each moment wholeheartedly, 
[00:43.31]with all our senses 
[00:44.85]so that we can find pleasure 
[00:46.65]in the fragrance of backyard garden, 
[00:48.54]the crayoned picture of a six-year-old, 
[00:51.57]and the enchanting beauty of a rainbow. 
[00:53.56]The illusion can be enthusiastic love of life 
[00:57.19]that puts sparkle in our eyes, 
[00:59.27]a lilt in our steps 
[01:01.46]and smoothes the wrinkles from our souls. 
[01:03.66]Secondly, we are born with wide-eyed, 
[01:07.30]enthusiastic wonder as anyone knows 
[01:10.03]who has ever seen an infant¡¯s delight 
[01:12.17]at the jingle of keys or the scurrying of a beetle. 
[01:15.66]It is this childlike wonder and illusion 
[01:19.40]that gives enthusiastic people such a youthful air, 
[01:23.08]no matter how old they are. 
[01:25.01]For example, 
[01:26.56]the famous cellist Pablo Casals 
[01:29.25]would start his day by playing Bach. 
[01:31.44]As the music flowed through his fingers, 
[01:34.18]his stooped shoulders would straighten 
[01:37.06]and joy would reappear in his eyes. 
[01:39.04]Music, for him, was an elixir 
[01:42.09]that made life a never-ending adventure. 
[01:44.38]As author and poet Samuel Ullman once wrote, 
[01:47.97]¡°Years wrinkle the skin, 
[01:50.06]but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.¡± 
[01:53.00]Lastly, people with illusions 
[01:56.21]also love what they do, 
[01:57.76]regardless of money or power or title. 
[02:00.98]If we cannot do what we love 
[02:03.46]as a full-time career, 
[02:04.73]we can as do a part-time vocation, 
[02:07.46]like the head of state who paints, 
[02:09.69]the nun who runs marathons 
[02:11.85]and the executive who handcrafts furniture. 
[02:14.95]We cannot afford to waste tears and energy 
[02:18.21]and time on ¡°might-have-beens¡±. 
[02:20.42]We need to turn the tears into sweat 
[02:23.00]as we go after ¡°what-can-be¡±.
[02:25.51]To sum up, 
[02:27.28]God gives each bird its food, 
[02:28.89]but he does not throw it into its nest. 
[02:31.07]Wherever you want to go, 
[02:32.99]just cherish your precious illusion 
[02:35.24]and let your dream be realized.